In an effort to keep our members informed of important information and deadlines affecting your system, on Monday FRWA sent the email below to our Active Membership with emails. The information was mailed to those with no email information.

Please take the time to read and act on the information included as there is a DEP deadline of October 16th involved.

FRWA has placed high importance on notifying you through email, brochures, our website, personal visits from our staff, our Annual Conference, and Focus on Change about the DEP Lead Service Line (LSL) Inventory due October 16, 2024.  There is a great deal of work required by your water system to meet this Inventory deadline and FRWA has been putting programs into place to help you accomplish this very challenging regulatory requirement.  All community and non-transient noncommunity public water systems, regardless of size, are required to complete the Inventory.

We have been waiting for official guidance from DEP on the state required procedures for the completion of the inventory. We have just received the official Guidance Documents from DEP and we are making them available to you hot off the press. The official documents are listed below:



DEP LSL Inventory Guidance

LSL Q&A

EPA Service Line Inventory Template 

A completed Inventory Template is the required submittal to FDEP. In addition, with preparation of the LSL Inventory, any service lines that are found to be either lead, galvanized downstream of lead, or left as “unknown” require a Lead Service Line Replacement Plan (also due by October 16). Also, your customers that are found to have lead service lines, galvanized service lines downstream of lead, or unknown material, must be notified within 30 days of submitting the LSL Inventory.

There are 3 primary steps for completion of the Inventory:

1.     Records Review

2.     Visual Verification of service lines that could not be eliminated in the Records Review

3.     Preparation and submittal of the LSL Inventory Template.



An example Standard Operating Procedure with further description of these steps can be found on our website, FRWA.net under the Lead Service Line Inventory page by clicking here.

FRWA is offering funding through DWSRF for completing the inventory if your system has less than 3,300 population and more than 15 connections, and is a non-profit or governmental entity. The funding is on a first come first served basis as long as resources are available. DEP DWSRF is determining “For Profit” eligibility and other program details. You can register for this funding on our website, FRWA.net, under the Lead Service Line Inventory page. If your system does not meet these funding criteria, you can apply for SRF funding through DEP.

We recognize that this is a difficult compliance requirement for our members. We will continue to be available to answer your questions and send you any updates on the requirements as we receive them. It is always our goal to assist our members with every phase of water and wastewater operations, including new and changing regulatory requirements.

For more information contact us at LSLI@frwa.net or at 850.668.2746.

Florida Rural Water Association has joined The Florida Partnership for Forests & Water (FPFW). FPFW is a collaborative effort focused on the management and protection of forests as a means to ensure local communities have clean, abundant drinking water. FPFW convenes agencies, NGOs, landowners, utilities, and other stakeholders to discuss the environmental, social, and economic benefits provided by healthy, managed forests and to promote and support forest management and conservation to improve and protect source water.

GOALS:

•  Protect or expand healthy forests in drinking water source watersheds.

•  Improve water quality and quantity through healthy forest retention and stewardship.

•  Promote the understanding that sustainably managed forests are the best land use for overall watershed health.

•  Identify watersheds and initiatives that have high potential for cooperative forest conservation and long-term stewardship.

•  Explore pilot projects to implement creative long-term stewardship strategies such as payments for ecosystem services programs and forestry best management practices that demonstrate the interdependence of healthy forests and drinking water.

Florida Partnership for Forests & Water is hosted by Florida Rural Water Association (https://www.frwa.net). Partners hold monthly virtual calls and an annual FL Forests & Water Forum. To join, contact KC Bell (mailto:kc.bell@frwa.net) 

NATIONAL NEWS

CISA, EPA, and FBI Release Incident Response Guide for the Water Sector The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a guide to assist owners and operators in the Water and Wastewater Systems. more

New USGS Map Shows Where Damaging Earthquakes Are Most Likely to Occur in U.S. Research-based map is the first to display an updated, comprehensive National Seismic Hazard Model for all 50 states. more

Alert! It's That Time of Year Again: EPA Increases Fines for Civil Non-Compliance The final rule raised the minimum and maximum fines for 2024 by about 3.2 percent from their 2023 levels. more

2023's Billion-Dollar Disasters List Shattered The U.S. Record National weather analysts released their 2023 billion-dollar disasters list on Jan. 9, just as 2024 was getting off to a ferocious start. more

Microplastics in bottled water, according to study - FOX 13 Tampa Bay Researchers say bottled water can contain 100 times more plastics than previously thought. More powerful optical imagine technology made the findings discoverable. more

Mississippi officials say water in state capital is safe one day after E. coli scare - WPLG Local 10 One day after Mississippi health officials told residents in the state’s capital that dangerous bacteria could be in their tap water, the state health department said Friday that city water was safe to consume. more

EPA Finalizes Rule to Prevent More Than 300 Inactive PFAS from Reentering Commerce The EPA announced a final rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that prevents companies from starting or resuming the manufacture or processing of 329 per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have not been made or used since 2006 without a complete EPA review and risk determination. more

STATE NEWS

3 Seminole County schools closed on Wednesday due to water main break Three Sanford-area schools will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, due to a water main break causing ongoing restroom issues. more

Council OKs water plant monitoring software | Highlands News-Sun The Town Council last week approved to fund an automated monitoring and alert system for the Tomoka Heights water treatment plant. more

Up to 5000 gallons of wastewater spilled at Busch Gardens: FDEP - WFLA Up to 5,000 gallons of wastewater spilled at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on Wednesday, according to a report from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). more

Gaming money could pay to protect Florida’s wildlife and waterways | Florida Weekly Legislative leaders pitched the use of gambling money to help pay for further expansion of a state wildlife corridor and other environmental projects as they kicked off the 2024 legislative session. more

Frozen water pipe causes complications in Bay County community | My Panhandle Some residents woke up Wednesday morning to find they had no running water. Despite taking the necessary precautions, part of a Callaway-based water station froze. more

Rainfall pushes Lake Okeechobee higher | Okeechobee News Instead of receding in the “dry” season, Lake Okeechobee is rising. Recent rainfall pushed the level of Lake Okeechobee over 16 feet. more

Central Florida lawmakers want new state standards for contaminants in drinking water Two Central Florida lawmakers aim to set a new state standard for the maximum amount of a contaminant allowed in drinking water. more

Melbourne "shocks" its drinking water system with chlorine this month - Florida Today  If your tap water comes from the city of Melbourne, you might already have noticed it tastes a tad like a swimming pool. more

Can I drink the tap water in South Florida? How to check the quality of your water - WLRN To live in South Florida means to live next to water — whether that be the warm waters of the Atlantic or the flooded streets of Fort Lauderdale after a downpour. more

District's abandoned well program safeguarding aquifers - The Apopka Voice The St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board continues to fund the Artesian Abandoned Well Plugging program in 2024. more

Commentary: Our tribal conservation plan will end drilling in the Everglades’ Big Cypress for good | Orlando Sentinel The Big Cypress National Preserve and the Everglades surrounding it are currently and perpetually at risk of further damage caused by oil drilling. In 2017, Texas-based Burnett Oil conducted seismic testing using trucks weighing more than 30 tons that scarred 110 square miles of the Big Cypress looking for oil. more

DeSantis spending heavily on water-quality improvements throughout Florida - WGCU Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to untie the strings on the big bag of taxpayer dollars to pay for water-quality improvements statewide. more

Volusia wastewater treatment plant awarded $38 million for expansion - Spectrum News 13  The grants are part of the state’s Water Quality Improvement Grant Program and the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program. more

Insulating your pipes ahead of cold weather could save you money | My Panhandle  Bay County officials said last time Bay County had a hard freeze they almost had to put the entire county under a boil water notice. They’re urging people to insulate their pipes and backflow preventers this week. more

 Thomas Crapper Invents the Flush Toilet

January 13, 1863 Thomas Crapper Invents the Flush Toilet. “It’s almost too perfect. A man named Thomas Crapper invents the world’s first indoor one-piece flushing toilet on this day in history, and the world rejoices. The problem is, it’s not true, particularly that “first” part. Crapper was instrumental in drawing the public’s attention to the product in his London store, which was the world’s first sink, toilet and bath showroom; but his role was more as a salesman, not inventor in this case. An article in “Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine” said Crapper “should best be remembered as a merchant of plumbing products, a terrific salesman and advertising genius.”

It probably didn’t hurt that Mr. Crapper was the official plumber of a few prominent members of the royal family. For instance, he handled all the plumbing and fixtures at Sandringham house, one of the Royal residences, and received Royal warrants from Edward VII and George V.

That said, Crapper did improve the functionality of the toilet. He was a plumber himself, and invented many doo-dads that improved efficiency and sanitation, such as the ballcock, which is the float-triggered flushing mechanism in your toilet… 

…the word ‘crap’ is of Middle English origin, and had nothing to do with poop back in the day. While the exact etymology isn’t known, it’s thought that it likely comes from the Dutch word krappen: to cut or pluck off, and the Old French word crappe: waste or junk. In English, people used the word to refer to weeds or garbage, but it had fallen out of popular usage in the UK by the time Mr. Crapper came along.

The term ‘crap,’ meaning ‘refuse’, stuck around in America though, coming over pre-16th century from England. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it wasn’t used to mean doo-doo until 1846… 

‘The Crapper’ as a name for the toilet was partially inspired by Thomas Crapper thanks to WWI. The toilets in England at the time were predominately made by the company “Thomas Crapper & Co Ltd”, with the company’s name stamped on them. American soldiers with their still actively used ‘crap’ word, took to calling these toilets ‘The Crapper’ and brought that slang term for the toilet back with them to the United States after the war.”

FLORIDA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION | http://www.frwa.net

2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309

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